reliability centered design

Beyond “No Scheduled Maintenance”

by: Douglas J. Plucknette of AlliedReliability

When I first began using Reliability Centered Maintenance as a tool to develop a complete maintenance strategy for a process or piece of equipment, I was bothered by the phrase "No scheduled maintenance". I wasn't that the phrase didn't just come out and say what it means, "Run to failure", it was that RCM as program leaves one with impression that nothing more can be done. It all stops here. Run it to failure. Fix it when it's broke. Now, I understand the thought process Nowlan and Heap were using, if a components failure cannot be predicted through the use of on-condition maintenance, prevented by using a preventive maintenance task, or eliminated through redesign, the remaining strategy would be "no scheduled maintenance". Fact is, if you're an RCM analyst, you work should not end here.

The Responsible Custodianship of Physical Assets

1 A Maintenance Mission

What exactly is the purpose of the maintenance function? In a world of growing expectations, increasingly onerous regulatory constraints, shifting technological paradigms and endless reorganisations - all of which must be dealt with urgently - it is easy to get lost.

The Case Against Streamlined Reliability Centered Maintanance

1 Introduction

Reliability-centred Maintenance (RCM) is a process used to determine what must be done to ensure that any physical asset or system continues to do whatever its users want it to do. This process finds its roots in work done by the international commercial aviation industry. Driven by the need to improve reliability while containing the cost of maintenance, this industry developed a comprehensive process for deciding what maintenance work is needed to keep aircraft airborne. This process evolved steadily since its early beginnings in 1960.

reliability engineering for maintenance

How Portland General Electric is Using RCM to Change Their Maintenance Culture

By Cheryl Bryant, Portland General Electric, Portland, OR, Paul Lennon, Portland General Electric, Portland, OR, and Jason Ballentine, ARMS Reliability Engineers, LLC, Austin, TX

Portland General Electric has recently completed a number of Reliability Centered Maintenance studies at their Boardman generating facility. Although the predicted results are impressive Portland General Electric is simply using Reliability Centered Maintenance as the tool to initiate a change in their maintenance culture.

Detective Maintenance

When we think about maintenance strategies, the words predictive, preventive, corrective, and breakdown spring to mind. There is however an important class of tasks that we do to ensure that our equipment and Plant remains safe and productive. These tasks are based on a Detective Maintenance strategy. They help us win our licence-to-operate and ensure long term viability. With machinery and Plants becoming increasingly more complex, the proportion of such tasks in the total maintenance program is growing.